Ma’ Rosa takes place in the slums of Manila. A married couple (played by Jaclyn Jose and Julio Diaz) run a convenience store that sells illegal substances, particularly shabu (crystal meth). When the couple gets arrested in a buy-bust operation, their three children (Andi Eigenmann, Felix Roco, and Jomari Angeles) do everything they can to save them from corrupt cops.

Please tell us something about your collaboration with the European Union.

Direk Brillante: “They [European Union] got in touch with me kasi they’ve been wanting to partner with me and what we can do, about my films, for instance, dito sa Philippines. Most of the films they are bringing here in the Philippines are for Cine Europa. Gusto nilang mag-collaborate with us. So, I welcome the idea, kasi most of my films are shown naman in Europe. Bukod sa pinapalabas ito sa Cannes, also in Venice, Italy, Berlin, Germany also so maganda siyang collaboration. Maganda rin kasi siyang gawin dito sa Pilipinas yung ginagawa doon sa abroad, especially in Europe. Maganda na we have the EU here and the Cine Europa Film Festival also. Maybe in the future, we can also show my films in these festivals.”